First mentioned in the Washington Post last week, confirmation from the Hollywood Reporter:

Paltrow out; Watts eyeing 'Huckabee's'
May 12, 2003

Naomi Watts is in discussions to step into Fox Searchlight's "I Love Huckabee's," taking over for Gwyneth Paltrow, who has dropped out of the project. Watts will segue to the film after she wraps production on "The Assassination of Richard Nixon" with Sean Penn and Don Cheadle, which begins shooting next month. "Huckabee's," written and directed by David O. Russell, also stars Mark Wahlberg, Jude Law, Jason Schwartzman, Lily Tomlin, Dustin Hoffman and Catherine Deneuve. The film marks the second project from which Paltrow has departed recently, having dropped out of Stratus Films' "Happy Endings" before being replaced by Jennifer Garner (HR 5/2). Both departures stem from her need to take time off to grieve the loss of her father, Bruce Paltrow, who died in October while the actress was in production on "Ted and Sylvia." In the "Huckabee's," Watts' character will find herself in a love triangle with Wahlberg and Law's characters. Watts, repped by CAA and Untitled Entertainment and attorney Steve Warren, is shooting the indie feature "Anymore." She next stars in Fox Searchlight's "Le Divorce" and Focus Features' "21 Grams." (Zorianna Kit)